Sunday, October 5, 2014

I am a lover of books. Not just any books...
but books that will draw my heart closer to God. I love biographies and
instructional books! It's my one weakness, as Dorcas would
say in Larkrise to Candleford.

Sweet Williams are still blooming

As
much as I love godly books, I love God's Word a hundred gazillion times more! My
heart swells when I think of the priceless value of His Word. His Word has
changed my life! Period! End of story! It just has!

Every area of my life has been touched by His Word. My
marriage, my emotions, my thought life, my desires and my goals. But, far greater than what God has done in me is the treasure of learning more about Him through His written Word. There lies a joy that matches none else.

Broccoli plants for winter

So I
am excited to share with you one of the sweetest little treasures on the
internet that is helping me hide God's Word in my heart. My long time
beloved friends, Kim and her husband John, have a wonderful new website called REFRESHINGS CHALLENGE.

Refreshings are described as, "... a surprisingly simple
and effective method to renew our minds and saturate our hearts with God's Word
(and other related helpful things), using condensations from a repertoire of bible studies we've done, skills
we've learned, and helpful things we've condensed from other
people."

This
is how I have used their website. I picked
out specific teachings and Scriptures that I want to be reminded of on a regular
basis. I've chosen posts that apply to my life or teachings that I can use to
encourage others. After I printed these posts I placed them in
sleeve protectors and filed them in my REFRESHINGS NOTEBOOK under a category
similar to the headings she has on her webpage for each post. The notebook sits
next to my living room chair so it's convenient to pick up and REFRESH myself
daily.

Raspberries are still giving fruit in my backyard

I've
added other sections to my binder such as The Godly Woman. I need daily reminders of what Scripture says I should be doing daily with my time. I've also added Scriptures on the
sovereignty of God to encourage me during trials and suffering. Another goal for the notebook is to use it to battle weaknesses and daily temptations.

Learning, knowing, memorizing and teaching
God's Word is one of my greatest joys. I want God's Word to take the highest priority in my life. The REFRESHINGS CHALLENGE is one easy way to guard what I have learned in God's Word throughout the
years. This old brain needs all the help it can get.

Dragon Tales

I have
stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. Psalm 119:11
ESV

Let the
word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all
wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your
hearts to God. Colossians 3:16 ESV

1. My husband's T-Shirts are noticeably worn. I've been watching for sales but nothing has come along. I stopped in our local thrift store while the oil was being changed in the car. Lo and behold, I found 5 T-Shirts, BRAND NEW for $4.99. I had a 25% off coupon bringing the total to $2.99 a shirt. Thank you, sweet Lord!

2. I normally throw away the stalks of broccoli but decided to peel it and then use a grater to shred it. I added a slaw dressing along with cranberries. I had enough to use for a lunch salad from an item that normally would be thrown away.

3. Did you know that Nature Made vitamins has a reward program? I may have told you before. I enter the reward code on each bottle I purchase of Triple Flex from Costco. I accumulated enough rewards to receive a $7 coupon to use at Costco for Nature Made products. The coupon can also be matched with Costco's sales which could drop the price by a total of $14.

4. I cashed in my Swagbucks for a $25 Amazon Gift Card. Click here to learn more about Swagbucks. It's an easy way to make money by doing online searches. 5. I read about an idea to line your fridge shelves with placemats but decided to buy the plastic shelf paper that does not have a sticky back. My mother has always lined her fridge shelves with tinfoil but it's an expensive habit because eventually the tinfoil tears apart after multiple cleanings. This shelf paper (it's made of a rubber type of material) can be washed and should hold up indefinitely. My shelves look so nice and clean.

Shelf paper lining fridge shelves

6. I'm saving cooked chicken bones in a freezer bag to make broth. 7. I live in my aprons. I have a few nice aprons and a few 'not so nice' aprons. I rotate my aprons as they get stained and worn. I keep a very worn apron in the garage to wear in the garden. Aprons save my clothes from spots and tears. I love my aprons!8. My house was built in the early 1900's and I think the kitchen grout is probably as old. Maybe not but it sure looks old and dirty. I've tried several cleaners but nothing has worked. I found a tile renewal product/sealer at Home Depot by Polyblend called, Grout Renew. It comes in different colors. It painted and sealed the ugly grout on my kitchen counters and it looks almost like new. So happy with it! It cost less than $15. I used a fine tipped paintbrush instead of the recommended toothbrush.

9. My mom and neighbor lady save their newspapers for me. I've started using coupons again to help offset rising food prices. I visit Coupon Mom on Sundays to see if there are any good deals for the week. Last week I was able to get cold meds for .99 cents. 10. I used the library instead of buying a book that had been recommended to me. Saved, Stretched & Re-used!- banana peels (buried around my rose bushes)- coffee grinds (buried around my rose bushes) - tin can tops (put in a bucket with water to make a fertilizer tea for grapes and hydrangea)- dog food can (washed out and used to pour grease into rather than down the sink).- egg shells, fruit & veggie peelings (compost pile)- tea bags (saved in fridge, 3 used for new cup of tea and then thrown in the compost pile)- LC tortilla bag, cranberry bag, broccoli bag,etc. (washed and reused as a baggie)- Rubber band off of radishes and broccoli (washed and reused)- Hair from vacuum (compost)

That's all for this time. What are you ladies doing in your homes? Are you getting ready for winter? I've started pulling out my blankets and heaters to make sure they're in good condition.Blessed to be home,Geogene

Featured Post

The thought of a PREPARED PANTRY has seemed overwhelming at times. But in recent months I have found a renewed interest to forge ahead and ...

This website contains affiliate links to products I think are awesome. This means that I make a small commission if you decide to purchase the product, but this does not impact your price. Thank you so much for shopping through us.